Since its inception, fingerprint sensing technology has revolutionized biometric identification and authentication processes. In most cases, a single fingerprint can be used to uniquely identify an individual in a manner that cannot be easily replicated or imitated. The ability to capture and store fingerprint image data in a digital file of minimal size has yielded immense benefits in fields such as law enforcement, forensics, and information security.
However, the widespread adoption of fingerprint sensing technology in a broad range of applications has faced a number of obstacles. Among these obstacles is the need for a separate and distinct apparatus for capturing a fingerprint image. Additionally, such components are often impractical for use in systems that are designed to be of minimal size or weight. As handheld devices begin to take on a greater range of functionality and more widespread use, engineers and designers of such devices are constantly seeking ways to maximize sophistication and ease of use while minimizing size and cost. Typically, such devices only incorporate input/output components that are deemed to be essential to core functionality, e.g., a screen, and a limited set of buttons.
For these reasons, fingerprint-based authentication techniques have not replaced username and password authentication in the most common information security applications such as email, online banking, and social networking. Paradoxically, the growing amount of sensitive information Internet users are entrusting to remote computer systems has intensified the need for authentication procedures more reliable than password-based techniques.
A display with built-in fingerprint sensing capability would thus lead to increased adoption of fingerprint-based authentication. However, a problem with simply integrating existing fingerprint sensing technology into electronic devices is hardware incompatibility. Most fingerprint sensors require a silicon circuit on which to mount the fingerprint sensing components. Incorporating such a circuit, whether resistive, capacitive, thermal, or optical, into a display would require significant and costly modifications to the design and production processes of such displays.
As will be seen, the present disclosure provides such a system that overcomes these obstacles.